Directions: Read the two stories (one by Margaret
Canby and one by Helen Keller). Then look carefully at
section 24 of the handbook. Determine to what extent
Helen plagiarized the work of Canby.
The Frost Fairies [From "Birdie and his Fairy Friends"]
by
Margaret T. Canby
King Frost, or Jack Frost as he is sometimes called,
lives in a
cold country far to the North; but every year he takes
a journey
over the world in a car of golden clouds drawn by a
strong and
rapid steed called "North Wind." Wherever he goes he
does many
wonderful things; he builds bridges over every stream,
clear as
glass in appearance but often strong as iron; he puts
the flowers
and plants to sleep by one touch of his hand, and they
all bow
down and sink into the warm earth, until spring
returns; then,
lest we should grieve for the flowers, he places at our
windows
lovely wreaths and sprays of his white northern
flowers, or
delicate little forests of fairy pine-trees, pure white
and very
beautiful. But his most wonderful work is the painting
of the
trees, which look, after his task is done, as if they
were
covered with the brightest layers of gold and rubies;
and are
beautiful enough to comfort us for the flight of
summer.
I will tell you how King Frost first thought of this
kind work,
for it is a strange story. You must know that this
King, like all
other kings, has great treasures of gold and precious
stones in
his palace; but, being a good-hearted old fellow, he
does not
keep his riches locked up all the time, but tries to do
good and
make others happy with them. He has two neighbours, who
live
still farther north; one is King Winter, a cross and
churlish old
monarch, who is hard and cruel, and delights in making
the poor
suffer and weep; but the other neighbour is Santa
Claus, a fine,
good-natured, jolly old soul, who loves to do good, and
who
brings presents to the poor, and to nice little
children at
Christmas.
Well, one day King Frost was trying to think of some
good that he
could do with his treasure; and suddenly he concluded
to send
some of it to his kind neighbour, Santa Claus, to buy
presents of
food and clothing for the poor, that they might not
suffer so
much when King Winter went near their homes. So he
called
together his merry little fairies, and showing them a
number of
jars and vases filled with gold and precious stones,
told them to
carry those carefully to the palace of Santa Claus, and
give them
to him with the compliments of King Frost. "He will
know how to
make good use of the treasure," added Jack Frost; then
he told
the fairies not to loiter by the way, but to do his
bidding
quickly.
The fairies promised obedience and soon started on
their journey,
dragging the great glass jars and vases along, as well
as they
could, and now and then grumbling a little at having
such hard
work to do, for they were idle fairies, and liked play
better
than work. At last they reached a great forest, and,
being quite
tired, they decided to rest awhile and look for nuts
before going
any further. But lest the treasure should be stolen
from them,
they hid the jars among the thick leaves of the forest
trees,
placing some high up near the top, and others in
different parts
of the various trees, until they thought no one could
find them.
Then they began to wander about and hunt for nuts, and
climb the
trees to shake them down, and worked much harder for
their own
pleasure than they had done for their master's bidding,
for it is
a strange truth that fairies and children never
complain of the
toil and trouble they take in search of amusement,
although they
often grumble when asked to work for the good of
others.
The frost fairies were so busy and so merry over their
nutting
frolic that they soon forgot their errand and their
king's
command to go quickly; but, as they played and loitered
in the
forest until noon, they found the reason why they were
told to
hasten; for although they had, as they thought, hidden
the
treasure so carefully, they had not secured it from the
power of
Mr. Sun, who was an enemy of Jack Frost, and delighted
to undo
his work and weaken him whenever he could.
His bright eyes found out the jars of treasure among
the trees,
and as the idle fairies left them there until noon, at
which time
Mr. Sun is the strongest, the delicate glass began to
melt and
break, and before long every jar and vase was cracked
or broken,
and the precious treasures they contained were melting,
too, and
dripping slowly in streams of gold and crimson over the
trees and
bushes of the forest.
Still, for awhile, the frost fairies did not notice
this strange
occurrence, for they were down on the grass, so far
below the
tree-tops that the wonderful shower of treasure was a
long time
in reaching them; but at last one of them said, "Hark!
I believe
it is raining; I certainly hear the falling drops." The
others
laughed, and told him that it seldom rained when the
sun was
shining; but as they listened they plainly heard the
tinkling of
many drops falling through the forest, and sliding from
leaf to
leaf until they reached the bramble-bushes beside them,
when, to
their great dismay, they found that the RAIN-DROPS were
MELTED
RUBIES, which hardened on the leaves and turned them to
bright
crimson in a moment. Then looking more closely at the
trees
around, they saw that the treasure was all melting
away, and that
much of it was already spread over the leaves of the
oak trees
and maples, which were shining with their gorgeous
dress of gold
and bronze, crimson and emerald. It was very beautiful;
but the
idle fairies were too much frightened at the mischief
their
disobedience had caused, to admire the beauty of the
forest, and
at once tried to hide themselves among the bushes, lest
King
Frost should come and punish them.
Their fears were well founded, for their long absence
had alarmed
the king, and he had started out to look for his tardy
servants,
and just as they were all hidden, he came along slowly,
looking
on all sides for the fairies. Of course, he soon
noticed the
brightness of the leaves, and discovered the cause,
too, when he
caught sight of the broken jars and vases from which
the melted
treasure was still dropping. And when he came to the
nut trees,
and saw the shells left by the idle fairies and all the
traces of
their frolic, he knew exactly how they had acted, and
that they
had disobeyed him by playing and loitering on their way
through
the woods.
King Frost frowned and looked very angry at first, and
his
fairies trembled for fear and cowered still lower in
their
hiding-places; but just then two little children came
dancing
through the wood, and though they did not see King
Frost or the
fairies, they saw the beautiful colour of the leaves,
and laughed
with delight, and began picking great bunches to take
to their
mother. "The leaves are as pretty as flowers," said
they; and
they called the golden leaves "buttercups," and the red
ones
"roses," and were very happy as they went singing
through the
wood.
Their pleasure charmed away King Frost's anger, and he,
too,
began to admire the painted trees, and at last he said
to
himself, "My treasures are not wasted if they make
little
children happy. I will not be offended at my idle,
thoughtless
fairies, for they have taught me a new way of doing
good." When
the frost fairies heard these words they crept, one by
one, from
their corners, and, kneeling down before their master,
confessed
their fault, and asked his pardon. He frowned upon them
for
awhile, and scolded them, too, but he soon relented,
and said he
would forgive them this time, and would only punish
them by
making them carry more treasure to the forest, and hide
it in the
trees, until all the leaves, with Mr. Sun's help, were
covered
with gold and ruby coats.
Then the fairies thanked him for his forgiveness, and
promised to
work very hard to please him; and the good-natured king
took them
all up in his arms, and carried them safely home to his
palace.
From that time, I suppose, it has been part of Jack
Frost's work
to paint the trees with the glowing colours we see in
the autumn;
and if they are NOT covered with gold and precious
stones, I do
not know how he makes them so bright; DO YOU?
The Frost King by Helen A. Keller
King Frost lives in a beautiful palace far to the
North, in the
land of perpetual snow. The palace, which is
magnificent beyond
description, was built centuries ago, in the reign of
King
Glacier. At a little distance from the palace we might
easily
mistake it for a mountain whose peaks were mounting
heavenward to
receive the last kiss of the departing day. But on
nearer
approach we should discover our error. What we had
supposed to be
peaks were in reality a thousand glittering spires.
Nothing could
be more beautiful than the architecture of this icepalace. The
walls are curiously constructed of massive blocks of
ice which
terminate in cliff-like towers. The entrance to the
palace is at
the end of an arched recess, and it is guarded night
and day by
twelve soldierly-looking white Bears.
But, children, you must make King Frost a visit the
very first
opportunity you have, and see for yourselves this
wonderful
palace. The old King will welcome you kindly, for he
loves
children, and it is his chief delight to give them
pleasure.
You must know that King Frost, like all other kings,
has great
treasures of gold and precious stones; but as he is a
generous
old monarch, he endeavours to make a right use of his
riches. So
wherever he goes he does many wonderful works; he
builds bridges
over every stream, as transparent as glass, but often
as strong
as iron; he shakes the forest trees until the ripe nuts
fall into
the laps of laughing children; he puts the flowers to
sleep with
one touch of his hand; then, lest we should mourn for
the bright
faces of the flowers, he paints the leaves with gold
and crimson
and emerald, and when his task is done the trees are
beautiful
enough to comfort us for the flight of summer. I will
tell you
how King Frost happened to think of painting the
leaves, for it
is a strange story.
One day while King Frost was surveying his vast wealth
and
thinking what good he could do with it, he suddenly
bethought him
of his jolly old neighbour, Santa Claus. "I will send
my
treasures to Santa Claus," said the King to himself.
"He is the
very man to dispose of them satisfactorily, for he
knows where
the poor and the unhappy live, and his kind old heart
is always
full of benevolent plans for their relief." So he
called together
the merry little fairies of his household and, showing
them the
jars and vases containing his treasures, he bade them
carry them
to the palace of Santa Claus as quickly as they could.
The
fairies promised obedience, and were off in a
twinkling, dragging
the heavy jars and vases along after them as well as
they could,
now and then grumbling a little at having such a hard
task, for
they were idle fairies and loved to play better than to
work.
After awhile they came to a great forest and, being
tired and
hungry, they thought they would rest a little and look
for nuts
before continuing their journey. But thinking their
treasure
might be stolen from them, they hid the jars among the
thick
green leaves of the various trees until they were sure
that no
one could find them. Then they began to wander merrily
about
searching for nuts, climbing trees, peeping curiously
into the
empty birds' nests, and playing hide and seek from
behind the
trees. Now, these naughty fairies were so busy and so
merry over
their frolic that they forgot all about their errand
and their
master's command to go quickly, but soon they found to
their
dismay why they had been bidden to hasten, for although
they had,
as they supposed, hidden the treasure carefully, yet
the bright
eyes of King Sun had spied out the jars among the
leaves, and as
he and King Frost could never agree as to what was the
best way
of benefiting the world, he was very glad of a good
opportunity
of playing a joke upon his rather sharp rival. King Sun
laughed
softly to himself when the delicate jars began to melt
and break.
At length every jar and vase was cracked or broken, and
the
precious stones they contained were melting, too, and
running in
little streams over the trees and bushes of the forest.
Still the idle fairies did not notice what was
happening, for
they were down on the grass, and the wonderful shower
of treasure
was a long time in reaching them; but at last they
plainly heard
the tinkling of many drops falling like rain through
the forest,
and sliding from leaf to leaf until they reached the
little
bushes by their side, when to their astonishment they
discovered
that the rain-drops were melted rubies which hardened
on the
leaves, and turned them to crimson and gold in a
moment. Then
looking around more closely, they saw that much of the
treasure
was already melted, for the oaks and maples were
arrayed in
gorgeous dresses of gold and crimson and emerald. It
was very
beautiful, but the disobedient fairies were too
frightened to
notice the beauty of the trees. They were afraid that
King Frost
would come and punish them. So they hid themselves
among the
bushes and waited silently for something to happen.
Their fears
were well founded, for their long absence had alarmed
the King,
and he mounted North Wind and went out in search of his
tardy
couriers. Of course, he had not gone far when he
noticed the
brightness of the leaves, and he quickly guessed the
cause when
he saw the broken jars from which the treasure was
still
dropping. At first King Frost was very angry, and the
fairies
trembled and crouched lower in their hiding-places, and
I do not
know what might have happened to them if just then a
party of
boys and girls had not entered the wood. When the
children saw
the trees all aglow with brilliant colors they clapped
their
hands and shouted for joy, and immediately began to
pick great
bunches to take home. "The leaves are as lovely as the
flowers!"
cried they, in their delight. Their pleasure banished
the anger
from King Frost's heart and the frown from his brow,
and he, too,
began to admire the painted trees. He said to himself,
"My
treasures are not wasted if they make little children
happy. My
idle fairies and my fiery enemy have taught me a new
way of doing
good."
When the fairies heard this, they were greatly relieved
and came
forth from their hiding-places, confessed their fault,
and asked
their master's forgiveness.
Ever since that time it has been King Frost's great
delight to
paint the leaves with the glowing colors we see in the
autumn,
and if they are not covered with gold and precious
stones I
cannot imagine what makes them so bright, can you?